In the training and conditioning of animals, particularly horses, a variety of training or control halters, hackamores, bridles and the like, have been developed to assist a trainer in behavioral training of the horse. Most training halters and training hackamores operate on the principle of applying pressure to one or more pressure sensitive points on the horse's head whenever the horse undertakes an undesirable movement. The undesirable movements which a trainer wishes to eliminate from a horse's behavior include rearing or backing away from a halter or anchor when the horse is being tied, lead, loaded into a trailer, or the like.
A variety of specially designed training halters and training hackamores have been utilized in the past. A training halter which is typical of those available is disclosed in the patent to Woodruff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,538, issued Apr. 13, 1976. This patent discloses a halter constructed of first and second loops of rope which encircle the head and the nose, respectively, of the horse. One of the loops is arranged in a cross-over type of configuration to contract whenever the horse pulls back or rears its head against a force applied to a lead rope or anchor rope attached to this loop. Pressure knots or studs are located on the loops to apply pressure to nerve endings of the horse behind its ears and on each side of its head. The pressure which is applied under the contracting force of the loops causes a discomfort to the horse; so that it learns which movements cause discomfort and which ones do not. The Woodruff halter is only capable of use as a training halter and is not particularly practical for use as a conventional halter for a horse or other animal. In addition, because of the relative non-rigid construction of the material which is necessary for the functioning of the Woodruff halter, it acquires a shapeless form when it is not on the horse's head, therefore making it difficult to place on the head of the horse initially.
Various types of bitless hackamore bridles for training purposes also have been developed to apply a vice-like or squeezing pressure across the nose and chin of a horse for training purposes. Most training hackamores utilize a pivoting lever arrangement for attachment to the reins; so that when the reins are pulled back, a clamping effect occurs between the nose strap and chin strap of the hackamore. The pressure which results from this action is utilized by the trainer in behavioral training of the horse. Training hackamores of this general type are disclosed in the patents to Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 2,463,279, issued Mar. 1, 1949; Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,736, issued May 20, 1952, Mader, U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,054, issued Jan. 2, 1979, Newman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,740, issued Sept. 3, 1957, Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,660, issued Mar. 10, 1953, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,033, issued Dec. 21, 1976. None of these patents are directed to training halters and all of them involve relatively complex and, accordingly, relatively expensive construction in the form of the various parts and levers which are necessary to effect their operation.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a training halter having a construction which approximates that of a conventional halter and which is simple to construct and use.